Valve-operating mechanism for flush-valves.



E. H. LAWRENCE. VALVE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR FLUSH VALVES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12, 1915.

Patented July 13, 1915.

EDWARD H. LAWRENCE, 0F CAMERON, WEST VIRGINIA.

VALVE-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR FLUSH-VALVES.

Application filed February 12, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD H. LAW- nnNon, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Cameron, county of Marshall, and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Operating Mechanism for Flush-Valves; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to valve-operating mechanism for flush valves, and particularly to that type of valve-operating mechanism designed to be actuated by means of an oscillatory handle or lever located on the outside of one of the walls of the flush tank. In valve-operating mechanism of this type, it is desirable to so construct the same that the flush valve will be operated when the handle or lever above referred to is actuated in either direction from its normal position.

It is the object of the invention to provide simplified and efficient valve-operating mechanism which will accomplish this purpose, that is, the finish valve will be operated when the controlling handle or lever is actuated in either direction.

In furtherance of this object, the inven tion consists in securing the controlling lever to an actuating rod which passes through the wall of the flush tank, and is mounted therein for axial turning movements. A valve-operating lever, extending at right angles to the axis of this actuating rod, is pivotally associated intermediate its ends with the actuating rod, the pivot point for the valve lever being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the actuating rod. At one end, the valve lever is connected to the flush valve, and the other end is extended until it makes contact with the wall of the tank in the normal position of the parts. A suitable shoulder is associated with the actuating rod, so that in one direction of rotation of the rod, this shoulder abuts the lever and causes it to swing bodily about the axis of rotation of the actuating rod, and thereby operates the flush valve. lVhen the actuating rod is turned in the opposite direction from its normal position, the free end of the valve lever in contact with the wall of the tank causes the lever to swing about its pivotal connec Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1915.

Serial No. 7,840.

tion, the stop above referred to then being ineffective for preventing such movement of the valve lever about its pivotal connection. As will hereinafter be seen, both of these movements of the valve lever causes that portion thereof which is connected to the flush valve to move in substantially the same path, and in the same direction, thereby properly operating the valve in either instance.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of the improved valve-operating mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, taken just behind the front wall of the tank shown in Fig. 1, and illustrating the position assumed by the various parts in the different positions of the control handle or lever; Fig. 3 is a broken perspective view of a corner of the flush tank showing a modified form of the improved valve-operating mechanism applied thereto; and Fig. -1 is a vertical elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 3, viewing the same from the inside of the tank.

Referring to the drawings, and particu larly to Figs. 1 and 2, the control handle or lever above referred to is shown at 1, and is secured to an actuating rod 2 passing through one wall of the tank, preferably the front wall, and mounted therein for axial turning movements. In the form of the mechanism illustrated'in Figs. 1 and 2,

the actuating rod rigidly carries a sup porting member 3 for the valve lever 4. The SHDJOTUDO member 3 has an inte ral 5 depending portion 0, which, 1n turn, has a bifurcated end portion the two arms of which are shown at 6 and 7, respectively, and are preferably disposed at right angles to the depending portion 5, as will be clear from Fig. l. The valve lever 4 passes through the opening between the arms 5 and 7, and is pivoted thereto by means of a pin 8 passing through the arms and the lever. A bifurcated horizontally extending portion 9 of the support 3 serves as a guide for an intermediate portion of the lever 4., as

will be clear from Fig. 1. In the modification of Figs. 1 and 2, the lever a is so bent as to form an intermediate vertical portion and two extreme horizontal portions. At one end, it is connected by means of a link 10 to the lift stem 11 of the float ball valve 12, the connection between 10 and 11 being the usual loose or sliding one to permit floating of the valve 12 during flushing. The stem 11 may be guided by'means of a bracket 13, connected to the usual overflow outlet 14-. As will be noted from the drawing, the valve lever 1 is pivotally mounted at the intermediate vertical portion by means of the arms 6 and 7 and the pivot pin 8. The solid portion of the support 3 at the extremity of the opening in the bifurcated portion 9, constitutes a shoulder which normally abuts the lever 4, as shown at 15.

The operation of the above described form of the devices is as follows :If the handle or lever 1 be moved from its normal vertical position shown in Fig. 1, until it assumes the position R, indicated by the dot and dash lines in F 2, the pivot point 8 will move in an arc of a circle about the axis of the rod 2 until it assumes the position S in Fig. 2. The shoulder 15 will remain in contact with the lever 4, and constitute means for swinging' the valve lever bodily about the axis of the rod 2 to the dot and dash line position 4:, indicated in Fig. 2. When so moved, the free end of the valve lever moves away from the wall of the tank, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and the valve-operating end of the lever rises in order to effect the lifting of the flush valve 12. When the handle 1 reassumes its normal vertical position, the parts of the valve-operating mechanism will reassume the position shown in Fig. 1. If the handle be moved to the left, or to the position indicated by the dot and dash line L, the pivot point 8, in swinging in an arc of a circle to the position 8 will cause the valve lever 41 to swing about the pivot point 8 to the dotted line position indicated at 4. This is due to the fact that the free end of the lever contacts with the wall of the tank, and such contacting relation between this portion of the lever and the tank obviously causes the other end of the lever to assume a new position, when the fulcrum 8 of the lever is shifted to the position 8 because the free end of the lever is held by the wall of the tank in substantially its original position. ll hen the valve lever so swings about the pivot 8, the intermediate portion thereof leaves the shoulder 15, as will be clear from an inspection of Fig. 2. It will, therefore, be noted that in either direction of actuation of the handle 1, the valve-operating end of the lever 4 will move in the same direction and to substantially the same position, and, therefore, in each instance, effect the proper lifting of the flush valve 12.

In the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the valve lever is shown at 1, and is in the form of a bellcrank lever, one arm of which is connected to the flush valve in the same manner as above described, and the other arm of which makes free contact with one wall of the flush tank. The actuating rod, in this instance, is offset, as shown at 2, so that when the handle 1 is actuated, the rotation of the actuating rod about its axis of rotation will produce a movement of the extremity of the rod in an arc of a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the rod. The valve lever 1 is pivotally mounted directly on the extremity of the actuating rod 2, and is provided with a shoulder 16 which performs the same function as that portion of the lever 1, in Fig. 1, which makes contact with the shoulder 15. A pin 15 passes transversely through the extremity of the actuating rod 2, and, in the normal position of the parts is arranged to make contact with the shoulder 16. This portion of the pin which so contacts with the shoulder 16, therefore, performs the same function as the shoulder 15, in Fig. 1. When the handle 1 is moved to the left, in Fig. 3, the pin 15 and shoulder 16 will cause the valve lever 4 to move bodily about the axis of rotation of the actuating rod 2, as its point of support is moved in an arc of a circle, and the lever itself is prevented from turning relative to the actuating rod 2. If the handle 1 be moved from the vertical position shown in Fig. 3 to the right, the extremity of the actu ating' rod 2 in moving in an arc of a circle to the position indicated at 2, will cause the lever t to swing about its pivotal connection with the actuating rod 2. due to the fact that the free end of the lever is held against movement because of the contacting relation between the same and the wall of the tank, and due to the fact that the fulcrum of the lever 1 is shifted to a new position. It, therefore, follows that the valve-operating end of the lever 1' must rise, and thereby lift the flush valve. The movement of the parts in this direction of actuation of thehandle 1 is limited by means of a second shoulder 17 provided on the valve lever 4, which makes contact with the lower end of the pin 15, when the extremity of the actuatin rod 2 has moved suflicientlv far in an arc of a circle to accomplish this result, and to effect sufficient upward movement of the valve-operating end of the lever to lift the flush valve.

In either form of the mechanism, it will be noted that the valve lever is pivotally associated intermediate its ends with an actuating' rod, the pivotal connection for the lever being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of the actuating rod. In one direction of rotation of the actuating rod, the free end of the valve lever contacting with the tank causes the lever to swing about its pivotal connection, and in the opposite direction of rotation of the actuating rod, means is provided in the form of a stop device for causing the'valve lever to swing bodily about the axis of rotation of the actuating rod. In both instances, the valve-operating end of the valve rod moves to substantially the same position, thereby lifting the flush valve in either instance. It will, therefore, be seen that the flush valve will be lifted to produce the flushing opera tion, no matter whether the control handle or lever be moved from its normal position to the right or to the left.

Many changes may be made in the details of construction, as above described, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims, and, therefore, I do not wish to limit myself to the specific construction and arrangement of the parts illustrated in the drawing.

What I claim is 1. Operating mechanism for flush valves of flush tanks, comprising an actuating rod mounted to turn about its axis, a valve lever pivotally supported at a point intermediate its ends by said actuating rod, the pivot point being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of said rod, means to cause bodily movement of the valve lever about the axis of rotation of said rod when the latter is turned in one direction, and means to cause a swinging movement of said valve lever about said pivot point when said rod is turned in the opposite direction.

2. Operating mechanism for flush valves of flush tanks, comprising an actuating rod mounted to turn about its axis, a valve lever pivotally supported at a point intermediate its ends by said actuating rod and connected at one end to the flush valve, the opposite end being extended to normally make contact with one wall of the tank, said pivot point for the lever being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of said rod, means to cause bodily movement of the valve lever about the axis of rotation of said rod when the latter is turned in one direction, the turning of the rod in the opposite direction causing the contacting re lation between the valve lever and tank to swing the latter about its pivot point, for the purpose described.

3. Operating mechanism for flush valves of flush tanks, comprising a valve lever, a

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the support therefor to which the lever is fulcrumed intermediate its ends, one end of the lever being connected to the flush valve and the other end arranged to normally make contact with one wall of the tank, means to swing the fulcrum of said lever in an arc of a circle in opposite directions, whereby the contacting relation between the lever and tank swings the former around the fulcrum in one direction of movement of the fulcrum, and means to cause bodily movement of the lever with the fulcrum in the opposite direction of movement of the fulcrum.

4. Operating mechanism for flush valves of flush tanks, comprising a movable support, a valve lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends to said support, said lever being connected at one end to the flush valve and having a free opposite end normally contacting with one wall of the tank, and means associated with said support adapted in one direction of movement of the support to rock the lever bodily about a fixed axis, the support being adapted in the opposite direction of movement to move the fulcrum in closer relation with said wall of the tank to rock the lever about its fulcrum.

5. Operating mechanism for-flush valves of flush tanks, comprising a movable support, a valve lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends to said support, said lever being connected at one end to the flush valve and having a free opposite end projecting away from said fulcrum, means positioned for normal engagement by said free end of the lever, and means associated with said support adapted in one direction of movement of the support to rock the lever bodily about a fixed axis, the support being adapted in the opposite direction of movement to move the fulcrum in closer relation with said firstnamed means to rock the lever about its fulcrum.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD H. LAWRENCE.

WVitnesses IDA VAN CAMP, A. R. BRYAN.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. 

